


Trying to Save Owen

by Rocky_Oberlin



Series: Guardian Ianto series [10]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Episode: s01e11 Combat, Gen, Mentions of Warehouse 13
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-05-20 05:09:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5992708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rocky_Oberlin/pseuds/Rocky_Oberlin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ianto can Feel Owen self-destructing, but the Weevils are also demanding attention. What happens when both come crashing together?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Trying to Save Owen

**Author's Note:**

> This is for all the people who asked when was I going to update the series. Thank you for your patience. Other than that, I have no excuses or good enough reasons to leave this for almost two years.

Owen was not acting like his usual likable self. In fact, Ianto would place a bet in the Las Vegas casinos that the Torchwood chief medical officer was suffering from really nasty hangovers or was still drunk. And then there were the explosive fights between Jack and Owen. While the snipes and snarls were a bit nastier than usual, it was his attitude toward the rest of the team that was giving Ianto headaches. Literally. The anger and rage rolling off Dr. Owen Harper, Chief Medical Officer, was thick enough to cut with a sharp knife. It was thick like a seven layer cake or like the molasses that his sister used to sweeten johnnycakes back when his family was wandering the plains territories in the 1800’s. And it was heavy; it was like a weight that Ianto couldn’t cast off and pulled him down more and more each day. There were times that Ianto had to leave the area just to clear his senses of Owen’s rage.

Then there was the underlying grief that hid behind the rage. While Ianto didn’t feel like he wanted to slit his wrists by proxy, the Welsh Guardian did feel like he was on the verge of having a spectacular break down. Ianto figured if he was feeling like this from being in the same room as Owen, what was his coworker feeling like? There were many times when Ianto wanted to drag the irritable doctor to the nearest pub or private area of a park and have a long, long talk with him about Diane and his past history, but the man was slick. He would leave while Ianto was busy with Gwen or the current residents and by the time Ianto was able to find him, Owen was well past drunk as a skunk and over half way to passing out drunk. Then Owen would come into work the next day and the process would start all over again.

And he was making Jack furious with his attitude, which was making the work environment worse for those caught in the middle. Poor Tosh was starting to look like she would love to fold in on herself and never be seen again, if it would keep her from the back biting. Gwen seemed immune to it for a while, but when she was screamed at by both Jack and Owen over the same occurrence at different times, she started to realize that she needed to step a bit more lightly. And Ianto was suffering the mother of all headaches that even migraine medication couldn’t touch. Something had to give.

The warning signs of another crisis showed up when he started to see Janet just rock back and forth while she keened when he came to feed her. The other not so permanent residents of the Weevil variety were acting the same, but they were a bit more subtle about it. Ianto tried to comfort Janet, tried to ask her what was disturbing her, and even went as far as extending his own senses to see what she was feeling. It was a mishmash of pain, anger, fear, and longing. It was, simply put, something that Ianto did not understand very well and he was also getting feedback from Owen, Jack, and to a lesser extent, Tosh and Gwen. After his second attempt at communicating with Janet and even trying one of the wild Weevils, Ianto had enough. It was time to do something.

The first thing Ianto did was start combing the news about strange attacks in the area. There were a few odd cases and he sent an e-mail to Gwen to look for more. Another e-mail went to his contacts in the constabulary to see what they could tell him. Andy sent a message back asking for a discreet meeting to talk about the strange goings-on that popped up lately. When Ianto was satisfied that the police angle was covered, he made a cup of mint tea and brought it to Tosh.

“Tea for the stomach?” he asked quietly.

Tosh turned and smiled gratefully. “That sounds like the best thing since this all started,” she said in a low tone. “Where did you get the mint from?”

“My sister has a small patch in her backyard,” replied Ianto as he sat down in an extra chair next to his friend. “She dries it to make mint tea. She sends some to me for the odd times that I need something to settle my stomach.”

“Like now?”

Ianto gave Tosh a faux shocked look. “Why would you say something like that?” he asked, pretending outrage that both knew was more to break the tension between them than the reality of the situation.

Tosh waved her hand. “Oh, I don’t know; Jack and Owen at each other’s throats and you have permanent lines between your eyebrows like you’re in pain.”

He smiled. “Touché,” he replied. “And you have the same lines that I see in my bathroom mirror, my lady. So, I think that we both are feeling the strain of the environment. Now the next step is to see what solutions we can come up with to fix said problem.”

“Go out and get smashed too?” asked Owen as he stumbled into the conversation.

Ianto turned calmly to the hung-over doctor. “Unfortunately, that would only solve the problem for a little while and then we would have a compounded problem in the morning. Thank you for the suggestion though.”

“Whatever,” Owen muttered. “When will I get another coffee? I’m dry.”

“Just a moment.” The Welsh Guardian rose from his chair and smiled at his Japanese friend before leaving to make the next coffee offering.

“You do know you are hurting him,” asked Tosh quietly.

“In what way,” asked Owen with a sneer.

“I think that he’s picking up on something because he’s been wincing whenever you get really angry or in a fight with Jack. He’s been hiding in the Archives ever since you started your binges.”

“Well, maybe he should keep his nose out of my business then,” said Owen belligerently. He stalked off to his desk to stare at the computer monitor, but Tosh doubted there was any work related material staring back.

Ianto calmly wove through the work area, passing out the cups of coffee to Owen and Gwen. Owen barely acknowledged Ianto, but he did snatch the cup. Gwen glared up at Ianto as he set hers down out of the way of the manual she was to read after her search through the local news. “I would finish that particular manual, if I were you,” Ianto said quietly. “You need to know those basics before I let you go on to the basic field work.”

“I know how to do fieldwork,” she growled under her breath.

“No, you know how to screw up fieldwork. Once in a while you do something right, but you always seem to think that your way is best in the end. That is when we have problems like your first night and that Ghost Machine that you played with.” Ianto leveled a hard look at the scowling newbie. “You will learn this or, so help me, you will be retconned and sent to Swansea to be a meter maid. I don’t think even the Cardiff constabulary will take you back.” Gwen opened her mouth to object, but Ianto held up one finger. “Not a word,” he cautioned. Then he turned and left the fuming Gwen at her desk with the manual that she was supposed to read.

Jack must have seen the exchange from his office because he looked at Ianto with a questioning look. “Problems with Gwen?”

Ianto shrugged. “Just that she doesn’t think that she needs to read the manuals for proper office and fieldwork protocol.” He set Jack’s mug down and put the tray under his left arm. “I quickly disabused her of that notion.”

“She didn’t look happy with what you said,” commented Jack as he raised his mug to enjoy the aroma of the coffee before taking a sip.

“She seems to think that she knows how to do fieldwork,” said Ianto. “I told her that her idea of how to do fieldwork resulted with the fiascos on her first night and with the Ghost Machine.” He sighed. “Right now she is the least of my worries.”

“Owen?”

Ianto nodded and said, “And you.”

Jack straightened up. “Explain.”

To Jack’s eyes, Ianto seemed to fold in on himself like he was trying to protect himself. “I understand the grief he’s feeling over the loss of Diane, but I did warn him. I also warned her about breaking his heart. Now he’s trying to self-medicate with alcohol which leads to his oh-so pleasant attitude and that leads to the fights between you both. I get the emotional feedback from both of you and his grief. Then there is Tosh, who is trying to be invisible while being brilliant with the computers and Gwen who is upset over getting busted down to probie after thinking she’s the second in command.” Ianto rubbed his forehead. “It is getting to be a bit much and it is affecting our work. And I just started looking into a strange rash of injuries. I’m hoping that there haven’t been too many deaths from the phenomenon.”

Jack listened to his friend and carefully considered his words. “What will it take to get things back to normal performance levels, do you think?”

“Getting Owen counseling, maybe,” muttered Ianto. Jack smiled bitterly back at Ianto and waited. “Right now, I don’t know,” Ianto finally sighed. He ran his right hand through his hair. “Owen needs to deal with this without drinking himself into oblivion each night.”

“So he needs a distraction?”

Ianto shrugged. “I don’t know. I do know he needs something.”

Jack blew out a deep breath and looked at Ianto over his steepled fingers. “If what you are looking into doesn’t seem like it’s Torchwood business, then I’ll have a talk with Owen about the possibility of him needing help.”

Ianto rolled his eyes. “That will certainly go over real well,” he said. “But I think that it might be the best we can come up with at the moment.” Ianto seemed to straighten and brought himself back to business. “I will be speaking with Constable Davidson about those strange injuries I’ve just looked into.” Ianto turned to leave before stopping and looking back. “Oh, before I forget. Janet and some of her friends have been acting strangely. I tried to get a read on what she’s feeling, but all I get is rage, pain, and fear. All of them hardly touch their food; it’s usual for the wild Weevils to not eat much due to distrust, but Janet usually cleans her plate. Now I’m cleaning three-quarters of it out before trying again the next day.”

Jack raised an eyebrow. “Think that it has something to do with the injuries that you are seeing in the reports?”

Ianto looked thoughtful for a moment. “I’m not sure,” he said slowly. “I’ll know more after my talk with Constable Davidson.”

Jack nodded and returned to the report in front of him and the mug that was being ignored in favor of the very serious talk with Ianto. Just as Ianto was leaving the office, Gwen decided to charge up the stairs toward Jack’s office. He stepped to the side as she charged in and started to pace in front of Jack’s desk. Jack barely paid the woman any attention until she started her complaints. Ianto left the pair to it, trusting that Jack would put the woman in her place. He had to clean up the kitchenette before leaving to speak with Andy.

Andy must have been off the clock when Ianto met with him at a pub that was favored by the locals more than the tourists. The blond constable was in everyday clothes and not the uniform of a man who kept the peace. The beer in front of him was a dead give-away also, but Ianto had met some constables in the past who liked to drink on the job. To Ianto’s reckoning, though, Andy was not one of them. 

“Constable,” Ianto nodded as he slid into the seat across from the blond man.

“Mister Jones,” Andy nodded back. They waited for the waitress to bring a glass of cola to the Welsh Guardian before continuing the conversation. “I did have a quick peek into your question and DI Swanson also had an inquiry about some of the more unusual.”

“And..?”

Andy blew out a breath. “You were right. There has been a strange uptick in A & D visits lately. There have also been a few minor accidents where someone would get forced off the road by an erratically driving van that appeared out of nowhere. Witnesses say that it was like the driver was in a hurry to get someplace. A few of the constables who have picked up the van tried to follow it, but always lose it in the warehouse district.” Andy gave Ianto a shrewd look. “You haven’t changed the company car, have you?”

Ianto tried to look indignant, but he could see that Andy wasn’t buying it. Instead he just shrugged his shoulders and said, “The Captain may be a dangerous driver, but he would never purposely endanger others with his driving.” Then he added, “Just us” under his breath. “Can you give a description of the van that has been knocking people off the road?”

Andy closed his eyes as he thought back to the description that was put on notice to every constable in the city. “It’s a white panel, no markings. The license plate is a fake. Any pictures of the driver show his face is covered and he’s wearing dark clothes.”

“So they are trying to be anonymous,” mused Ianto. “Has anyone seen what they’re carrying?”

Andy shook his head. “They just come out of back alleys and parking garages in the late evening and at night.” Ianto straightened at the areas and time the van was seen. “Does this mean something to you?” Andy asked.

Ianto looked troubled. “It’s about the time that the stray Weevils come out. They like to be in darker areas and stay in the sewers most of the time. When you see them in daylight, they have been caught out of their normal comfort zones and are looking for a way back. That is when they get especially dangerous.”

“Do these Weevils tear their victims to pieces?” asked Andy. He was given a sharp look that asked him to continue. “That would be the uptick in the A & D visits. Men have come in complaining of being mugged or beaten by street toughs, but the injuries are not consistent with those types of crimes. They have been beaten to an inch of their lives with deep lacerations all over and a few bite marks that don’t look like any recognizable animal bites. When they are asked for details, they say that they didn’t get a good look at their attackers and just want to put it behind them. Every detective that interviews them says the same thing: the victims are all nervous about something and are holding back.”

Ianto leaned back in his seat as he mulled over what his companion told him. This was not good. “If I showed you pictures of Weevil attacks, do you think you could tell if they were similar to the injuries of the men involved?”

“How would you know about injuries from these Weevils?” asked Andy suspiciously.

Ianto gave him a bland look. “Torchwood is the worst kept secret in Cardiff, but there are some things that have to be covered up. These attacks would be one of them.” At Andy’s darkening face, Ianto raised a hand and silently asked to be allowed to continue. Andy gave him an unhappy look, but waited impatiently. “What would happen if everyone knew about the Weevils that lived in the sewers of Cardiff? Mostly these beings stay out of our way and live on rats; only a few come to the surface and Torchwood deals with them. I have heard Weevils described as hunched over men wearing Halloween masks and razor gloves. Now consider what would happen if the residents of Cardiff knew that there were aliens living under the streets that looked like people in Halloween masks. Some child or teen thinking to do a stupid prank could end up killed because an overly vigilant resident thought the prankster was a Weevil. Or, worse case, the government or UNIT would come in and declare martial law to deal with the “threat”.” Ianto gave Andy a significant look at that last possibility. 

Andy grimaced, but backed down; he didn’t want any more high handed government types interfering with the daily lives of Cardiff residents than Ianto did. “Point made,” he muttered. Andy gave Ianto a hard look. “Are you going to do anything about what is going on?”

Ianto returned the gaze with a calm one of his own. “Only if it is Weevils or aliens and not some street gang trying to be inventive, then I will leave it in the constabulary’s capable hands.”

Andy gave a nod. “When do you want to show me those pictures?”

“Come down to the Mermaid Quay tourist office in an hour,” instructed Ianto. “I’ll have the photos there.” He sighed. “If it is Weevils, we’ll try to get this cleaned up as quickly as possible.”

Andy gave him a strained smile. “Thanks.” 

Ianto returned the smile and gave a nod of his head. “I’ll see you in an hour.”

“Yeah.” Andy paid his tab and left the pub. 

Ianto quickly drank the rest of his beverage, paid for his drink, and left a tip before leaving as well. He pulled out his phone and dialed Jack. “We might have a problem; the weevils might be attacking more than the unwary bystander now.” Ianto listened to his partner on the other end before saying, “I’m coming back now. I’m going to show Constable Davidson pictures of Weevil injuries; it might give us a clue of what is going on.” Ianto huffed at the next complaint from Jack. “I’ll be back soon; I’m sure that you can hold out until then.” He closed his phone and continued to walk. His inquiry along the breezes moving through the city showed nothing suspicious as he returned to Torchwood; not even a Weevil leaving their underground community.

That worried Ianto.

When he arrived back at the Hub, Ianto noticed that Owen was on a tear about something and Tosh had a pinched look on her face. He quickly made the caffeine offerings and asked Tosh quietly what was going on since he had left.

“Gwen has been complaining about being stuck down here and not going out on field assignments. She is also saying that you haven’t been letting her go home at a decent time to see Rhys.”

“Is Gwen still up in Jack’s office?” Tosh nodded. “Then, I think it is time to beard the lion in her borrowed den.” He, vindictively, left Gwen’s coffee on her desk and walked up the steps to the Captain’s office. He politely knocked on the door and waited for Jack to give him permission to enter; the coffee was safely delivered to Jack before Ianto even deigned to look in Gwen’s direction. He raised an eyebrow that said “are you even supposed to be up here?”

“How was your meeting?” Jack asked.

“Informative,” Ianto responded. “My informant will be by to look at pictures of Weevil attacks to see if the injuries of the mugging victims are similar.” Gwen snorted, but was ignored by both, much to her fury. “I was also told that a white paneled van has been seen leaving dark alleys and parking garages at night and driving erratically. It is always lost in the warehouse district.”

“So, if this is in our jurisdiction, then maybe I should have Tosh see if there are any CCTV cameras we can look into. If not, we might have to do something drastic.”

Ianto sighed. “I’ll see if there are any tracking devices that we can put on a Weevil that won’t be noticed.” He looked the Captain in the eye. “I don’t like it, but I understand if we have to do it.”

Jack smiled and nodded. “Thank you.” He looked down at the paperwork on the desk and seemed to ignore the glowering Gwen. “By the way, Gwen is complaining that you aren’t letting her keep up with her outside life.”

Ianto raised his eyebrow. “Is that right; then may be Ms. Cooper should stop trying to find ways to get close to you or Owen and go home to her ever faithful Rhys. I have noted in my reports about her training that I let Gwen out at 5:00. What she does after that is her own business.”

“You have not,” snapped Gwen. “You tell me to clean out the car or feed the Weevils before I leave.”

“And I don’t expect you to take forever to feed them either. It is a process that would take about 15 minutes if certain people don’t hem haw around trying to get out of it. Any lateness is on your part. Taking care of company equipment is all our responsibilities.”

Gwen narrowed her eyes. “I thought that was your job as the admin. The others don’t take care of the menial work.”

“That is because they are doing their own work. I do take care of the admin, but if Tosh, Owen, or even the Captain were to have some available time, they take care of their areas and stock the equipment. Who do you think cleans the guns in the armory? Owen cleans his own equipment and Tosh makes sure the computers and the main Operating System are fully functional. I find that you like to look at gossip sites and play solitaire when you could be cleaning up the main room or doing the dishes. I take care of the residents because they are used to me. Owen could feed the Weevils since he has been studying them, but he has other reports to finish on his autopsies.”

Gwen looked like she was going to open her mouth to complain some more, but Ianto looked at the clock. “I have other things I need to attend to. Since you seem to think that you aren’t seeing Rhys enough, then I’ll let you go early, but it will be reflected on your pay packet. Captain, I will let you know what my informant says in a bit.”

Gwen looked furious as Ianto walked out the door, but he didn’t care. He had evidence to gather and she had a life she needed to return to. Jack also had work; he needed to complete the reports for the Queen and let the Prime Minister know that they were not to be included in the Ministry briefings, especially when Defense Minister Saxon was demanding more information about them. Ianto remembered the warning Danny gave him and it was being echoed by Tony and, scarily, Harry. And neither Harry nor Ianto was too sure about the new defense network that the Defense Minister was touting to the country after he already sent it up into space. Something was off, but Ianto had more immediate problems to deal with.

Andy was prompt when it came to his meeting with Ianto at the tourist office. He came in and Ianto nodded his head. He locked the front door, turned the closed sign, and pulled out the photos from behind the desk. Andy studied each picture carefully. He looked a bit pale at some and green around the gills at others, but he gave each on careful consideration.

“We never seen some of these blokes when we got a call out,” he said after studying each one.

“I know,” Ianto sighed. “We tried to make matches with who we have and provide cover stories, but sometimes events get away from us. We do try to give the victims’ families closure, but even I can’t work miracles.”

Andy gave Ianto a hard look. “There have been some missing persons that I’ve been wondering about…” he started.

Ianto nodded. “And we might know something about them. They may have a reason to stay missing if I’m correct.” Andy raised an eyebrow, but let it go for now. Ianto was sure that it was going to come up again. Right now, the safety of the population and the Weevils were his main concern. He nodded to the photos in Andy’s hand. “Are any of those injuries familiar?”

Andy brought his mind back to the problem at hand and glanced down at the top picture in his hand. “Yes. The detectives have several similar pictures on their desks of the victims of the “muggings”. No casualties yet.”

“Pleasing God,” muttered Ianto.

Andy added an “Amen” after Ianto’s prayer. “I thought alien catchers didn’t believe in God,” he asked after a moment of reflection.

Ianto smirked. “I am older than I look and the product of my upbringing. Just because I don’t announce it, doesn’t mean I don’t attend service once in a while.” Ianto’s smile grew. “It drives Captain Harkness crazy when I take time out to attend. He keeps saying he hasn’t found any proof that there is a God or even gods.”

“I’m guessing you have?” asked Andy.

“I’m still here,” said Ianto. “That is all the proof I need at the moment.” He cleared his throat and straightened his already straight tie. “Now, I will let Captain Harkness know about what is going on and we will see what we can do to stop the attacks. I’ll keep you informed on what we find.”

Andy nodded. “Thanks,” he said, relieved. “This will help a lot.”

Ianto smiled and nodded before unlocking the front door and changing the sign. Andy left quietly and Ianto readied himself for the afternoon rush of tourists. While he was working, Ianto called down on the comm system to relay what he had learned.

“So, Weevils might be kidnapped so the kidnappers can use them into scaring victims into doing whatever the kidnappers want,” guessed Jack.

“Possibly,” said Tosh as she searched through the city CCTV in search of the van. “But why use the Weevils? Wouldn’t it be easier to rough the victims up themselves?”

“The Weevils might be an intimidation factor,” hazard Ianto. “’Do as we say or we set this on you’ could scare the victims into doing whatever the kidnappers want.”

“Well,” said Gwen. “There haven’t been any reports of intimidation or kidnapping by anyone in the police records. Only the “muggings” and those don’t have much other than the victims want to put it all behind them.”

“Well, it’s decided,” said Jack. “I’ll go out to see what I can find and the rest of you come in tomorrow to help me figure what I find.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” asked Gwen. “May be someone should go with you.”

“I could go,” offered Ianto. “I happen to know that you have a date with Rhys tonight.”

“How did you-” Gwen blustered, but she was interrupted by Tosh.

“Because all we’ve heard for the past couple of days is “Rhys is taking me out” and how you’re not sure if you’ll get out on time for the date.”

“Because Teaboy is keeping you past your bedtime,” Owen finished with a sneer. “And we all know that you’ve been hiding from the stalwart man of your dreams by trying to stalk me or Captain Hardness.”

“’Captain Hardness’? “ Jack said bemused while Ianto sighed over the comms and rolled his eyes.

“I did not need that in my head while working with the public, Owen. Thanks so much,” Ianto grumbled.

“Well, it shut Gwennie up for a bit,” smirked Owen. 

Ianto didn’t give a verbal reply, but a few minutes later he sent an internal e-mail to Owen that said “Thanks for stalling her protests.” Ianto hoped that even for one second Owen felt a bit better than he had been. Then he smiled at the new group coming through the door with questions about the Cardiff Castle; on with his day as a tour guide.

Ianto tried to enjoy his evening, but there was something nagging at his senses. At first he thought it might have been the uncertainty of Gwen and her attitudes of late. Then he thought of the Arch Angel System that Defense Minister Saxon launched a week ago with the blessing of the interim Prime Minister. That still rankled Ianto at how cavalierly the Doctor deposed Prime Minister Harriet Jones after she tried to protect the planet. Even the queen was a bit miffed at the loss of the capable woman, but the Doctor had started a line of thought that had built about the capable Prime Minister Jones. Ianto had always thought that she was one of the better Prime Ministers that was for the betterment of the United Kingdom and not their party.

Ianto decided to try to find what was bothering him so much, so he traveled on the breezes around Cardiff to see what was going on. So far it looked like it was a pleasant night and couples were out enjoying the clear weather. After a bit, he came across Rhys and Gwen in an outdoor café, enjoying their meal or at least Rhys was enjoying the meal. Gwen was looking bored, Ianto thought, until the Captain ran by after a Weevil. Ianto didn’t listen to the argument between the lovers, but he did see the angered look on Rhys’ face as Gwen ran off to help the Captain track the Weevil. Ianto didn’t know what annoyed him more, the Captain taking a woman away from a date with her boyfriend on her night off or the twispin running off on her boyfriend after a man who may not even look at her as a possible lover.

Ianto resolved to mention this to Captain Harkness in the morning, but he got caught up in the chase on the white panel van with the kidnapped Weevil in the back. Ianto tried to follow the Captain and Gwen as they after the fleeing vehicle, but also lost them as he tried to keep an eye on his co-workers. He did hear something strange as he coasted by on the wind that sounded like the old fight clubs that gentlemen attended at the end of the day in Victorian times. If that was really what he was hearing, then it would put a new spin on the whole ordeal.

Too bad Ianto wasn’t able to let Captain Harkness know about his suspicions or his thoughts on the rendezvous he had with Gwen when she was supposed to be on a date with Rhys.

“Owen, the meds haven’t been counted for a bit,” Ianto reminded the hungover doctor.

“Well, I’m too busy. If you can remember it, then you can count them.”

“They need a medical person’s signature,” Ianto reminded him.

“Then I’ll sign after you count the drugs,” Owen said with a bit of asperity. He turned back to the monitor he had been staring at and tapped a rhythm with the fingers of his left hand.

Ianto blew out a sigh as he turned to the narc cabinet. He barely noticed Owen’s tapping while he started to do the count. When it came to the Retcon, he frowned and checked the logs. The count was wrong again and he turned to Owen. “We have a problem.”

“What now?” Owen asked scathingly. “Not enough birth control for all the operatives?”

“No,” he denied. “That isn’t it and I doubt there would be enough to keep Jack from either getting someone pregnant or getting pregnant himself. It’s the Retcon. The log says there should be 27 tablets of the 5 mg dose. We have 25 in the bottles.”

Owen whipped around in his seat and launched at the cabinet. He counted the tablets himself twice while Ianto waited patiently. “Do you know if any was taken out last night for some reason?” Owen asked.

“No,” said Ianto. “When I came in, I checked with the police and the newspapers to see if anything happened. I even checked the logs on the computer for any localized activity. There was nothing that could even have warranted the use of Retcon; not even the Weevil that went missing last night.”

“Caught that, did you?” asked Captain Jack Harkness as he sauntered into the Med Bay.

“Yes, and I caught on to the fact that you allowed Gwen to follow you on the chase when-“

“He needed help,” Gwen insisted as she walked up next to Jack. “Everyone else was at home.”

“And you were-“

“Willing to lend a hand,” Gwen finished with a beatific smile toward the Captain. “I just wish we could have found where the van went.”

“I may have something,” called Tosh from her station. “The van stopped at a warehouse a couple of blocks from the bay.”

“Good,” Jack said with a grin. “Tosh, you’re with me. Owen, work with Ianto to track down the missing Retcon to make sure that we don’t have a thief in Torchwood. Gwen, I believe that Ianto wanted you to read some manuals before you work in the field again.”

Ianto watched Jack bound off with Tosh following in his wake. A look at Gwen showed that she was caught flat-footed over the change from needing her help tracking the kidnapped Weevil to the head of an institution making sure that one of his workers knew what was needed in their line of work. He turned to Owen, “So, shall we go over the logs and see where those tablets might have gone?”

Owen grumbled, but grabbed the book while Ianto found a chair at Owen’s computer. He barely registered the faint trace of guilt, but he didn’t know what it was from or who felt it. All that Ianto had was a suspicion and no concrete proof. It would have to be left for now.

“The last count date had…” Owen started and Ianto called up the information on the computer. It would take a while, but he hoped that he was wrong about the trace of guilt that he caught from someone.

When Jack and Tosh returned, they had a puzzled look and a feeling of frustration. Ianto and Owen echoed that frustration as they couldn’t find the missing tablets. They had combed through everything and couldn’t even find out who had taken the tablets.

“Conference room,” ordered Jack as he walked by. Tosh looked dismayed about something and Ianto found out what it was when he heard Jack call the Cardiff police about a dead body in the warehouse district. “We’re holding it for now, but when we figure out if it is not a part of our investigation, then we’ll release it back to you with any notes we’ve made.”

“Dead body?” Ianto asked quietly to Tosh as they settled in the Conference room.

She nodded her head. “It was the only thing there. His phone rang, but Jack couldn’t get any information from the caller. I’m hoping that I will be able to track the number at a later time.”

Ianto was going to say something when Jack sailed into the room and settled in his chair. “Well, we seem to have a problem with our local Weevil population; their either going rouge and we need to put them down or they’re being used to cover murders.”

“Or they’re being used as a sport,” added Ianto.

“How would you know?” asked Owen as Jack said “In what way?”

Ianto gave Tosh a sheepish look before explaining. “I tend to latch onto the passing breezes or the wind during a storm to see what is going on in the city. I was doing that last night to make my uneasy feeling go away for a bit. I saw Captain Harkness try to capture a Weevil on his own.” At this he leveled a stern look at Jack’s unrepentant grin. “Obviously he failed because he was seen by several people, including Rhys and Gwen, running after it. Gwen left her date, which she had been pining and complaining over and making a general nuisance of herself, to join Captain Harkness in pursuit. They lost the Weevil in a parking garage when the Weevil was picked up by a pair of men in a white panel van. I tried to follow it, but I also lost it in the warehouse district, but I did hear something interesting. It was the sound of a fight club going on. I haven’t heard that particular sound since Queen Victoria’s son took the throne.”

“That might be why they were in an abandoned warehouse,” said Tosh. “I checked it on line and it was just put up for sale.”

“Who’s the owner?” asked Jack.

Tosh tapped a few keys on her computer and came up with a couple of results. “The previous owner passed away and his company was liquidated. The current owner is a realtor who became quite rich quickly.”

“I wonder if he knows what’s going on inside his empty warehouses,” Jack mused as he studied the picture on their screen. He glanced at Tosh and grinned. “Well, we can’t ask him; the kidnappers knows our faces.” Jack turned to Owen. “I guess that means you get to go undercover,” he said cheerfully.

“What?” Owen said. 

Ianto had the same reaction, but he was a bit quieter. He wanted to see what Jack was going to do.

“Why can’t Jonesie go?” asked Owen.

“Because he wouldn’t fit the part,” said Jack. “And he knows what a fight club is, so we need him to look for the signs.”

“I could go,” offered Gwen.

“You are on probation,” said Jack. “And according to what Ianto has been reporting, you have not been doing what you have been told.”

“But you allowed me to help you last night,” she argued.

“To the detriment of your date with Rhys,” said Ianto. “A date you had been talking and complaining about, might I remind you. Then when you do get the chance to see Rhys without any interference from work, you immediately drop him for the thrill of the chase.” He leveled a knowing look at her. “Which chase, though, seems to be up for debate at the moment.”

Gwen looked at him with a startled expression, but couldn’t say anything. Ianto just smiled pleasantly at her and turned his attention back to Jack.

“So, Owen,” continued Jack. “Think you can convince our rich realtor that you are serious about moving your company shipping to our wonderful city of Cardiff?”

Owen grumbled and nodded. “I can try. What am I shipping?”

“Jellied eels.”

Ianto was impressed over the work that was put in to make Owen look legitimate, but he didn’t think that the subject was going to be believed. He just shrugged and continued to outfit Owen while Jack went over the mission parameters with him again.

“I think I got it,” said Owen, testily. “I think that Jones got it the first time.”

“I just want to reiterate that you don’t have to do anything other than go in, plant the bug, and get out,” said Jack.

Ianto sighed. “Jack, I think he gets it. May be not the concern about him, but he does understand what he has to do,” he said, absently.

They both gave Ianto a startled look, but Ianto was too busy making sure the equipment was operating correctly. When he was sure that Owen was as safe as Ianto could make him, Ianto patted Owen on the shoulder and went over to Tosh to see if her side of the connection was ready. He ignored the last minute instructions Jack gave Owen and glanced up at the clock.

“I would say, Miss Cooper that it would be time for you to go home,” Ianto said. “I believe that you and Rhys need to talk.”

Gwen glared at Ianto. “But-“

“No buts, Gwen,” said Jack as he walked over with Owen. “We all know that you need time with Rhys and it was interrupted by me last night. Go. Have a nice night in and talk.” He smiled an almost shark like smile. “Have fun!”

Gwen’s shoulders slumped as she gathered her coat and purse. Ianto watched her leave the base through the blast door before turning his attention back to what the rest were talking about.

“So, you think you’re ready?” asked Jack. Owen nodded. “Tosh?”

“All set.”

“Great!” Jack turned to Ianto. “Did you get what we needed from the body?”

Ianto nodded. “I’ll turn it over to DI Swanson in the morning. She is aware.”

“And his effects?”

“In a bag waiting with the body.”

“Hopefully we can get this over with and the constable can go back to stopping bar fights.” Ianto rolled his eyes at the statement, but hoped that this would be the end of it himself.

“Be careful, Owen,” Ianto said. “I don’t want to break in a new medical officer.”

Owen let out a bark of laughter before he left through the garage door. Ianto hoped that this was not the last time he would see his friend, but he did have a bad feeling creeping up his spine.

Everything seemed to be going well when Owen was invited for drinks. Then that bad feeling got worse. Ianto studied the incoming footage with intensity as Owen went clubbing with the strange realtor named Matt. The things that he spouted were alarming and Ianto was afraid that Owen was buying what the man was selling. The pair left the club and went to Matt’s flat; then the transmission went dark.

Ianto ran for the SUV after Jack and Tosh while pulling DI Swanson’s number on his phone and asking for back up. “It’s at the warehouse district. I’ll let you know when we find it.”

“How do we find it?” asked Tosh as Jack threw the SUV into drive.

“I can find Owen; I know what he feels like. Then I just have to track him down.”

“Well, hurry,” Jack said tensely. “I don’t like the idea of him being by himself.”

Ianto didn’t say anything as he searched for his friend, who for some reason seemed content for the first time since Diane left, while Jack sped through town. This sent alarms through Ianto’s senses and made him search all the more harder, following multiple tracks of the wind through the extensive district. He tensed as the tracks joined and split without him seeing his friend.

Then relief flooded his veins. “Down this street,” Ianto ordered. “It’s the third to last one on the left.” He pulled his phone to alert DI Swanson just as Jack’s phone rang. Ianto gave the directions to the DI as he watched Jack toss his phone to Tosh to keep the SUV flying down the street toward their goal.

“That was Gwen,” Tosh said as she ended the call. “She said that the phone with our dead body rang. It was a text for where the next meeting was.”

“What was she doing back at the base?” asked Jack. “I thought that she wanted to see Rhys.”

“He left for the evening,” Tosh reported. 

“Gee, I wonder why,” muttered Ianto as he held on to the bar on the door. He made a note to check the breaks and suspension on the SUV in the morning with the way Jack drifted the SUV in front of the warehouse. “Are we waiting for DI Swanson and the constables?”

“We’ll give the constables three minutes, and then we go in,” Jack said firmly.

The police force arrived a minute later with lights, but no sirens. Jack stood with DI Swanson as the constables surrounded the warehouse and waited for the signal.

Alarm shot through Ianto as he felt surprise then a deathly calm wash over Owen. “Jack, we need to get in there. Now!”

“Why?” asked DI Swanson.

“I think that Owen is about to commit suicide by fight club.”

“You mean like that man in our autopsy bay?” asked Tosh.

“Yes.” Ianto tensed himself. Either he was going to fly in through the window or he was going to run in with the police.

“Breech! Breech! Breech!” ordered DI Swanson.

The constables crashed through the doors and Ianto was right behind Jack in running with them. They ignored the constables ordering the men to get down and that they were under arrest and ran to the cage in the middle of the room. Inside, Ianto was horrified to see Owen standing face to face with a Weevil. Neither one moved, but Ianto could tell that the Weevil was considering Owen with its own form of empathy. Neither one paid any attention to the goings on outside of the cage.

Ianto glanced at the entrance, but was beat by Captain Jack Harkness ordering his operative to leave the cage now. Owen became more mulish and didn’t leave. That must have been the signal for the Weevil because it charged at Owen and he leaped to meet it. It was a nightmare of slow motion as the Weevil started to slash at Owen as he tried to fight with it. The Weevil raked its claws across Owen’s arms and torso as Owen punched the Weevil wherever he could find an opening. Jack was yelling at Owen to back away from the Weevil and the businessmen and constables all were frozen in their places as they watched the horror in front of them.

“Ianto, please,” Tosh whispered. “Help him.”

Ianto shook himself from the emotions of the fighting pair. He focused on Owen after taking a deep breath. “Owen.”

Owen backed away from the Weevil, but kept his eyes on it. “What, Teaboy?”

“It’s time to come home.”

“What home?” It was snarled out and the Weevil, restlessly pacing across from Owen, raised its lip in a snarl as well.

“Torchwood.”

“That isn’t a home,” Owen spat. “It’s just a bunch of sad people who can’t make it in life and Torchwood is where we collect until we die.”

“What about me, then, Owen? I’m not able to die that quickly and Captain Harkness can’t completely die at all.”

“But you’re just as sad as the rest of us are,” countered Owen.

“Am I?” asked Ianto. “I have ten brothers and a sister who came to help us when we were all caught by the cannibals at Bannau Brycheiniog. One of my brothers came to help Tosh after Mary almost broke her. Two others helped us when Suzie came back. They all asked about my co-workers during our Christmas gathering.”

“And that is to mean something to me?” Owen asked just before he made a feint at the Weevil. Off to the side Captain Jack Harkness was waiting at the inner door like he had it unlocked, but was waiting to see if an intervention was needed.

“Yes,” said Ianto. “My older brother and sister were concerned with the sadness that they said you wore like a cloak. My sister was concerned that one day you might try something like this.”

“And what is ‘this’ precisely?” He made another jab at the Weevil and was rewarded with a swing at his head.

“Suicide by job.” Beside Ianto Tosh gave a sharp inhale of breath. At the inner cage door Jack looked concerned.

“Are you sure that is what I’m doing?” asked Owen sarcastically.

“That isn’t mine to answer,” whispered Ianto. “That is yours.”

“May be I am trying to die,” Owen said in a quiet voice as he lowered his fists.

“Why?” whispered Ianto as he moved to the door of the cage.

“Because I’m alone,” Owen whispered back.

“But we are here,” Ianto said quietly. “We can be your family.”

“Why?” Owen demanded quietly. “Why would you want me in your family?”

“Because we see a brilliant man who is wasting away from grief; my sister understands that grief more than the rest of us. She lost her husband and baby before she discovered what she was. She has to live with that loneliness until she is finally able to rest herself.”

“And that means what to me?” demanded Owen.

“It means that we can see the pain you are in and we want to help you with some of it.”

“What if I just want to die?”

“That is your choice, but there must be a better way to die than at the claws of a Weevil.”

Owen turned his head a bit to look at Ianto out of the corner of his eye. The Weevil made to attack, but Ianto barked a Welsh word and it stopped in its tracks. A few of the older constables who knew the Welsh language shifted uncomfortably.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” he sneered. Ianto didn’t say anything.

Then Jack burst into the cage to grab Owen. It startled Owen and Ianto to the point that the Weevil was able to make one more attack on Owen as he was dragged from the cage. Ianto watched, frozen, as it happened before shaking his paralysis loose and running to the outside door of the cage. He almost tore the jacket from his arms as he ran to meet Jack with the bleeding Owen.

“It caught him in the right side,” Jack reported. Ianto nodded as he pressed his jacket to the heavily bleeding wounds. “Tosh, get an ambulance here!” Jack yelled as Tosh quietly said “I have an ambulance on the way.”

Ianto just whispered to Owen, “We are going to have a long talk when you are more stable.” He gave a harder than necessary press to the wound on Owen’s side to make his point. It was answered by an angry glare from the medic.

Around them the constables rounded up the thrill seekers and put them in the transport wagons to send them back to the station. DI Swanson and Constable Davidson were the last to leave, but was reassured it was alright to leave from a nod by Ianto. The Emergency Services personnel finished treating the minor injuries and some started to converge on the Torchwood team. Jack made to wave them off, but Ianto stopped him and allowed the medics to start stabilizing Owen.

“Who is his medical proxy?” asked one of the medics. 

“I am,” Jack announced. “And I’m coming with him.”

Ianto sighed, but allowed the medics to take over the care of his friend. Owen was moved to the cot, and then whisked away with the Captain following close behind. Ianto looked back at the Weevil staring out of the cage. “Do you have the spray?” he asked Tosh.

Tosh nodded slowly as she walked backward from the cage. “I’ll get it from the SUV,” she whispered.

Her footsteps echoed through the warehouse as she retreated from the scene of her friend’s almost demise. Ianto just waited for Tosh to leave the area before speaking with the alien. "You almost killed him with that last swipe,” Ianto said quietly to the alien. The Weevil just looked back at him and weaved where it stood. “I know that your people go for the weakest and most vulnerable, but he was trying to leave peacefully after antagonizing you.” The Weevil lifted it lips in a full snarl. Ianto glared, snarled back, and shoved a feeling of ‘alpha male’ at it. The Weevil cowered back with its arms raised. 

“What did you do?” asked Tosh as she returned.

“Showed the Weevil who had more power in this place,” Ianto replied before smiling at his coworker and taking the spray. “I would show it the same respect in the sewer, if I came across it in its new habitat.”

“What kind of respect would that be?” asked Tosh archly. “A gun and Weevil spray?”

Ianto laughed as he approached the Weevil in the cage. “No, getting out of the area as quickly as possible without attracting the attention of the whole group.” Ianto moved quickly as the Weevil regained the fighting stance, ready to try to take out the interloper on its person. Too bad Ianto was quick with the spray and had several decades of experience behind him; after all, someone had to protect the colony from Torchwood before Jack took over.

It was much later when Ianto finally was able to visit Owen in the hospital. The good news was Owen was in a private room, but Ianto suspected that he was also on suicide watch. A bag of green grapes sat on the bedside table and Owen looked to be resting uncomfortably. “Having a bit of a bad dream?” Ianto asked quietly. A brief pass of Ianto’s empathy showed Owen in distress, but Ianto didn’t know what, so he left it alone and projected the calm of a friend nearby.

Owen woke later to Ianto eating the grapes and reading a worn copy of that magical kid and chuckling. “You’re eating my grapes,” he groused.

“You don’t like green grapes,” said Ianto, putting down the book.

“Yeah, well, they’re still mine, mate.”

Ianto inclined his head and closed the bag. “I wanted to tell you about another person who lost her family too,” he started.

“Look,” Owen interrupted. “You told me about your sister and her boo-hoo story.”

“Not all of it and I let her tell it; I only give the highlights. No, you know this person’s work if you read some of the classics.” Ianto settled back in his chair and hooded his eyes. It allowed him to watch his friend and delve into his memory. “She had a husband and daughter, but she lost them. Then she was tapped to work for Warehouse 12. She made quite a name for herself, which, of course, angered a lot of the men who worked there longer. If rumor is true, she brought down Jack the Ripper and that was a difficult one for me to track since London had a lot of cobblestones where he liked to hunt.” Ianto opened his eyes to see if Owen was paying attention. He was and trying not to look like he was. “She started to write fantastical stories, even taking some information from what I accidentally let slip about the universe. The problem was no one would publish her work because she was a woman. So, she used her brother as a beard and the stories were published under H.G. Wells. Let’s just say that popularity went to Herbert’s head and he rested on her laurels while she tried to bury herself in work.” Ianto quirked a corner of his lip upwards. “Sounds like someone else I know, but instead of trying to destroy the world like she did, he just tried to destroy himself. Both times I tried to intervene, but I was only partially successful the first time.”

“What did she try to do that brought you the mixed results?” Owen asked.

“She tried to destroy the world with one of the artifacts from the Warehouse. I managed to stop her, but the Caretaker and the Regents of Warehouse 12 decided that she needed to be “taken care of”. She was bronzed and left to her memories.”

“I’m guessing that you objected.”

“Of course, and I think the Warehouse must have agreed because soon after it started making noises about leaving England. It had to wait until 1914 before leaving London.” Ianto smirked. “Now it’s the problem of my siblings over in America. Someone has to travel out to the South Dakota Bad Lands to check on it periodically.”

“And that’s bad?”

Ianto shook his head. “Just annoying according to everyone; they flip for it every Christmas.”

“Who won this time?”

“My brother out of Nevada; Spencer will have to make a trip out when he’s able to get away from his team for a while. My brother from Hawaii was last year.” 

“What about the second time you intervened?” asked Owen.

“That depends on you.”

“Why me?”

“I can only start the process of regaining your life, but you have to figure out if you want to continue it. If not, please let me know and I will get out of your way, but you had best really mean it. I don’t want to have you standing before me after you’ve killed yourself by drink or something else and yell at me for not stopping you sooner. And, yes, I will be able to tell.” Ianto gave Owen a penetrating glare. “Most times people don’t want to do it even when they say they do.”

“So, I better make up my mind,” said Owen.

“It would be appreciated. Just, please, don’t try to destroy the world.”

Owen gave a painful shrug. “We’ll see.” He settled back down in his bed. “Oh, and Ianto?”

“Yes?”

“What is Warehouse 12? And what are ‘artifacts’ in relation to the Warehouse?”

Ianto sighed. “Let me tell you about the Warehouse and a woman who taught me Kempo…”

**Author's Note:**

> No, I don't condone suicide. What I'm hoping Ianto does comes off as a shock to Owen to make him think. Suicide is a sad business that leaves family and friends torn apart. Death is hard enough without suicide hurting the ones you love more. If you do have thoughts of suicide, please, get help. There are crisis numbers that can get you the help you need.


End file.
